Leading the Charge

HEADNOTE

GSA won't divulge specifics, but contractors expect changes in the government's SmartPay program.

Federal employees soon could find themselves slapping down new charge cards when they pay for travel expenses

and retail items. The General Services Administration is overhauling its SmartPay program, through which agencies bought more than $24 billion worth of goods and services in fiscal 2005. As a result, the institutions that supply the charge cards-Citibank, Bank of America, US Bank, JPMorgan Chase and Mellon Bank-soon could find themselves playing a different or reduced role in the popular program.

While details are scarce, GSA has released preliminary information, including a request for information to solicit feedback from industry and other sources. The agency says it wants the new program, which will kick off in November 2008 after the current contracts expire, to be more secure, offer better customer service, reduce waste and fraud, and rely on innovative solutions for data management. In other words, GSA wants a strong program, but it wants industry to come up with specifics. And the agency wants something different.